#1 could be summed up by Casey Spooners infamous quip, "even if it sucks for everyone else, Im gonna have a fucking blast!" Odyssey falls more along the lines of the last song on the album: Vision, Creation, New Sun. Theyve definitely grown up.
The fans that remember Fischerspooner as being the nuts that created one of the first electro anthems and spearheaded the whole genre might not be all that pleased. Gone are those millions of layers of audacity and chords that bulldozed through our ears, the baroque theatrics and unlimited zeal to party. However, if you loved them because Fucker, Sweetness and Natural Disaster were so sinister, grandiose and sexy then youll be stoked.
Odysseys songs are almost folk and delicate. Even Caseys demeanour is more sedate. #1 was an explosion of everything. A majestic swoop that paid no attention to what was going outside of Fischerspooners collective heads. It was amazing. But it was also static. #1 was such madness that critics didnt even think there was any room left over for even FS themselves to make a new album let alone other artists to make their own niche in the electroclash scene.
Electroclash didnt burn out and Fischerspooner didnt bother to follow-up. Odyssey has little to do with #1 . Odyssey is more acoustic and linear. The album sounds much more oriented. Instead of being an implosion of emotion and synthesizers it moves in a more organic and less aggressive way. It still has that quintessential Fischerspooner sound: the deep bass, broken up beat, the use of breathing and sighing to detail the harmony, super awesome back-up vocals that crash down so violently. Its all there.
The first single Just Let Go has already been remixed and has been making the rounds for a few months now. Its got the creepy FS bassline and, done up by Thin White Duke, it rocks hard. Never Win, Everything to Gain and Happy showcase Fischerspooners ability to construct tracks that are dreamy and moving. My least favourite song was Confusion but now its my most. The dialogue structure stills seems clich and Im not completely convinced about the jazzy flute but theres something about the delivery of the lyrics that is moving. Caseys lush voice pushes against the chorus and the way he breathes out and moans makes me want to stretch.
The only thing in question is what kind of show they put on. Two years ago I left their show in a daze: covered in blood*, wondering if that audience member threw ice in Caseys eye, completely awed by the whole spectacle. The best concert of my life. I was so affected and confused I couldnt fathom writing a review. Now that FS is a bit grown up will they still sing their hit three times over? Will we get incorporated into the show? Does Casey still lip-synch? They have a residency at Manumission Mondays this year and so they must still know how to throw a party.
Get the CD, Fischerspooner still feels good.
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2005/03/28/casey_spooner_fischerspooner.php
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Thin+White+Duke
http://www.privilege.es
* One of the craziest spectacles Ive ever seen: The stage is pitch black except for a spotlight on a badly beat up guy. Hes coughing up blood and its splattered all over his shirt. Someone steps out from behind the curtain and pulls him so violently that all of it rains down on the first few rows. I was drenched. I licked it and it tasted like strawberry.
